QotW: What diecast car should they make next?

Last week it was announced that Tomica, after 42 years making diecast Japanese cars, is finally coming out with the pivotal Datsun Fairlady roadster. We learned too that the first A60 Celica to exist anywhere in 1:64 universe would soon debut, a mere 30 years after the real deal.

What diecast car should they make next?

Our wish to the mongers of small metal cars is for a Mazda Luce RX-4 HT. We never understood why Tomica made a Luce sedan and not the stunning the two-door coupe. However, the 40-year delay will be worthwhile if it means the hardtop can now be rendered with the incredible detail of the Tomica Limited Vintage line.

What say you, dear reader? As always, the most entertaining, well-written, or inspiring comment by next Monday will receive a random toy. Click through to see the winner from last week’s question, “What is the greatest Japanese engine?”

Impassioned pleas for everything from Mitsubishi turbo fours to Nissan and Toyota‘s great straight sixes made this a really tough decision. Jeff‘s advocacy of the Toyota 4A-GE was nearly victorious, but ultimately an ode to the Mazda rotary by the ironically named Camshaft won the week:

I’m going to say the Mazda rotary — the funky engine that bankrupted some Germans, intrigued, then befuddled some Americans, and prompted nearly everyone else to say, “that won’t work.” That is, until a little car company from Hiroshima dared to think outside the box and make it a practical reality. It’s been in sports cars, sedans, station wagons, and even pickup trucks – hell, even Ultraman drove one. At one point it powered the fastest Japanese production car; nearly a decade later it would conquer Le Mans: a feat unmatched by Nissan, Toyota, Honda, or any other Japanese manufacturer.

38 Responses to QotW: What diecast car should they make next?

There already is a model for almost every car that was available out there! Every sports-car from around the world, every european executive-car and almost every truck has been done as a diecast-model. But there is one very successful car that hasnt got a model. The Subaru Leone III, produced from 1984 until 1994. It saved the Subaru-brand worldwide, it was the successor of the oh-so-famous-Impreza and it was a big success in Europe too. Even you in the US bought it in large numbers (“Best selling import wagon” during the 80s, so that you got it until 1994 as the Subaru Loyale.

No, there really isnt any model of this car. No do-it-yourself-modelkit, not a diecast-model, not even a Matchbox-size-model. It has a boxer-engine that sounds like a poor-mans-V8. Every body-style has frameless windows, so every time you close the door you feel like Don Johnson in Miami Vice. And it´s got part-time or full-time-4WD. Now you FWD-haters don´t know what to say, do you!? A very cool car, a very rare car, a groundbreaking car for Subaru.

I really don´t understand what there isn´t a model of this car. Some explanations?

Although I risk a flaming death as a vote for a toyo kogyo produced product took out last weeks prize.
My vote would be for the 68 Mazda Cosmo. Why you ask?.. Who wouldnt want a nice block mounted replica of not only one of the first rotaries, but one of the rarest. You would be lucky to see one in the flesh and if so the thought of modifying it would be out of the question, so instead create us a scale model of a car we will probably never own in standard and period racing livery, afterall Isnt that the idea of scale models a replica of a “dream car” For me its the low body line, datsun esque headlights complimented with flat rear guard, it still is a stylish car 30+ years later and it amazes me how they created these cars back then. Lastly the bubble top looking coupe compartment! The George jetson styled vehicle that still holds a certain mystique and elusiveness that only a futuristic flying car would provide!

I don’t know if it’s already been done in 1:64 diecast. But the C130 Laurel SGX makes my pants feel smaller than a hipster’s after his mum accidentally tossed them in the dryer. Solely due to the fact that the car is pure muscle car aesthetic executed with the sort of efficacy that only the Japanese seem capable of.

In my quest to collect everything rotary related that I can get my hands on I’ve found that there are models for every rotary car from the 70’s. That being said they are vintage models from that period, hard to come by and expensive if you can find one. But the only car model I have yet to find is the legendary Mazda RX87/ R130. Its a real shame too that I have never found one, the Italian design on that car is brilliant, and it is to date the only FWD Rotary powered car. It is the only Mazda Rotary that the size of the internal components changes not by length like a 12A and 13B, but rather the dimensions of the motor are completely different; The RX87 is rarer then a Cosmo Sport. Because of all of this, I would think that the RX87/R130 would be a great choice for a new diecast model.

Would love to see someone make a couple different versions of the 2nd Gen Celicas,
1980 Supra, Coupe GT, and Hatchback GT, but of course you would also need to make a couple versions of the 78 and 79’s, since the nose is so radically different from the 80’s.

I would love them just for the fun of customizing them into some cool street cruisers. Even better would be making them as Revell Plastic models! Probably not a big seller though, but as rare as they are, who knows?!?

As an avid collector of Tomica, both new and old, I’ve seen numerous old models that were sold for one or two (early) generations, and then no longer continued.

One of these would be the Honda/Acura Integra line. Tomica only produced the very first generation (known and packaged as the Quint Integra), but it stopped there. A neutral business-product decision at most, but little did anyone realize that this car would morph into the DC2 and DC5 cars that defined the brand in the early 2000s.

Tomica has had two generations of NSX-Rs, and the two last generations of Civic-Rs in the regular line-up. But where has the DC2/DC5 been? Sure, other manufacturers have had their iterations of them (usually in riced/modded forms). But for the model (and one depicted to be fresh from the factory) to be missing from the quintessentially Japanese toymaker seems a bit of a faux pas.

I’ve recently started to drift away from my dreams of having a classic corolla or celica. When I first saw a 1976 corona rt115 sr5 I thaught it was a well blended concoction of everything Toyota. A sporty, hardtop coupe, solid and time tested powertrain, full gauge compliment, luxury features… Just plain sexy. You can.find bits and pieces of other toyota cars at every angle. Casual cruiser or street beast, with just the turn of an ankle and the flip of the wrist. There have been many cars and certainly many a corona that have been immortalized in diecast, but I have yet to find an rt115 sr5. If you can find one pass it along, I’d sure like to know.

It may have only been a concept, but I’d have to put my vote in for the Mazda RX500. It’s an outrageous looking car, but it somehow still manages to be beautiful in a way that only Mazda could hope to achieve. Since acquiring one in real life isn’t an option, a scale diecast would have to be the best substitute in any wankel-powered collection.

Looking at it closely, all the design features are slightly odd. The inexplicable moustache adorning the gaping grille, the chrome-rimmed body-coloured flush-mounted bumpers, the gills from a fastback Mustang, and its muscle-car-meets-luxury-coupe styling.

But taken as a whole, it looks good and unlike anything else. Space-age quirkiness makes a Japanese classic car, and this one has it in spades – and yet, the MS60 coupe is the underappreciated black sheep of the Crown family. Surely it deserves to be made into a model?